[One-Shot] Damaged
Title: Damaged
Author: Knowmonsta
Pairing: Lee Donghae/Cho Kyuhyun
Words: 1,404
Rating: PG-15
Genre: Slight Angst/Romance
Summary: Donghae senses the strain in him and Kyuhyun's relationship. But he's afraid to find out the cause behind it.
Note: I still can't believe I wrote this. I hope you guys enjoy it!
At first, Donghae thinks that Kyuhyun is uninterested in him. He barely talks, only nodding and smiling softly whenever Donghae engages him in conversation. As a result, he is surprised when Kyuhyun agrees to go out on a date with him, responding to his request with a vigorous nod.
Then, he thinks that Kyuhyun is just shy. He doesn't voice his opinions very much and he agrees with whatever suggestions Donghae puts forward. He can't hold Donghae's gaze for more than a few seconds, at which point he resumes staring in his lap.
But soon he starts to notice things. He notices that Kyuhyun stiffens when he hugs him, flinches whenever he gets mad, and stays painfully still whenever he tries to kiss him. It's then when he starts to get suspicious. But it's not until Kyuhyun stays the night over his house does he realize the severity of the situation. That evening Donghae's sitting on his knees in front of his DVD case.
"Hey Kyuhyunnie, what movie do you want to watch?"
"Whatever you pick is fine," Kyuhyun replies from the kitchen as he takes a bag of popcorn out of the microwave.
"Are you sure?" Donghae asks. "Attack of the Blood Sucking Zombies doesn't seem like your kind of movie."
"I'll be fine," Kyuhyun replies. "Umm…where do you keep your cups?"
"The cabinet closest to the sink," Donghae says. "But be careful, that cabinet can barely fit everything inside of it and something might fa -"
Donghae hears the sound of glass breaking and a slight yelp.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Kyuhyun exclaims. "I-I d-didn't mean to!"
"It's okay," Donghae says as he comes into the kitchen. He freezes as he sees Kyuhyun in a squat position, hugging his knees.
"It was an accident," he says quietly.
Kyuhyun's face is turning pale and Donghae's never seen him look so fragile before.
"Kyuhyun," he says quietly as he kneels in front of him. "I know."
"You mean…you're not mad?" Kyuhyun asks softly.
"No," Donghae replies surprised at the question. "I'm just glad the glass didn't cut you. It didn't get you right?"
He tries to take Kyuhyun's hand to check for a cut, but he quickly sits on his hands, moving away from Donghae. Donghae sees the fear in his eyes and feels a pain in his chest.
"Kyuhyun," he says retracting his hands and putting them behind his back. "Why don't you go lie down on the couch and I'll clean this up, okay?"
Kyuhyun nods. Donghae moves farther away so that Kyuhyun can pass him without him fearing them coming into contact. As he sweeps up the glass he steals glances at the floor like a child in time out. The sight unnerves Donghae. He isn't sure what to do. When he finishes cleaning the glass he approaches Kyuhyun cautiously, still keeping a far distance away.
"Did you still want to watch the movie?" he asks quietly.
Kyuhyun nods, not looking at him. Donghae plays the movie and sits on the floor. He's not sure how to ask Kyuhyun why he reacted the way he did and he's afraid to hear the answer. But he doesn't see how they'll move past this.
At 10:00pm Kyuhyun lets out a small yawn. Donghae removes his gaze from the television for the first time in four hours.
"Are you tired?" he asks. Kyuhyun shakes his head. "It's alright if you are. You don't have to stay up with me if you don't want you. You can sleep in my room, I'll take the couch." When he sees Kyuhyun's facial expression he quickly adds, "It's fine, I don't mind. And the door locks on the inside."
That seems to ease Kyuhyun's mind and after softly bidding Donghae goodnight, he disappears behind the doors to Donghae's room. Thirty minutes later Donghae presses his ear to the door and listens until he can hear Kyuhyun's soft snores. He then quickly goes into the younger man's overnight bag and pulls out his cell phone. He scrolls through the address book until he finds the name of a friend Kyuhyun's mentioned before. He takes a deep breath and hit the dial button.
"Hey Kyu! What's up?"
"Umm Ryeowook, it's Lee Donghae."
"Oh my God is Kyuhyun alright?!"
"He's fine," Donghae says quickly. "He's asleep."
"Oh," Ryeowook says sighing in relief. "So, what's up? It's a bit unusual for you to call."
"There's something I have to know," Donghae says quietly. "I'm too scared to ask Kyuhyun about it and to be honest with you, I don't want to. I don't want him to relive whatever it is he went through. So, I was wondering if you knew if some sort of trauma happened to Kyuhyun. He barely looks at me and he's reluctant to come near me. It's like…he's terrified of me."
Ryeowook sighs.
"Four months ago Kyuhyun got out of a bad relationship. I'll spare you the details but just know it wasn't healthy for him emotionally… or physically."
Donghae takes a deep breath. It was exactly what he feared.
"He was abused," he whispers.
"Yes," Ryeowook says softly. "After a month of enduring it, he finally told me. The man responsible is now in jail.
"When Kyuhyun started becoming interested in you, he was still afraid to have feelings for anyone. But he didn't want to give up on having a normal relationship. He kept going on about how cute you are and how nice you are to him and how you seem to be a good person. He wants to stay with you, so if you care about him, please be patient."
"Of course," Donghae says quietly. "I want to stay with him too after all."
Kyuhyun wakes up the next morning and cautiously walks into the kitchen to see Donghae setting the table.
"Good morning Kyu," he says smiling. "I made breakfast."
Kyuhyun and Donghae sit at the table eating quietly for a few minutes. Soon, Donghae sits his fork down.
"I need to talk to you about something," he says and Kyuhyun tenses.
"Is this about yesterday?" he asks quietly.
"Yes," Donghae replies. "I called Ryeowook. He told me what happened."
Kyuhyun stiffens as Donghae stands up and kneels in front of him. He takes Kyuhyun's hands in his and kisses each one of his fingers. Kyuhyun's breathing hitches.
"Kyuhyun, I would never hurt you," Donghae whispers. "I would never degrade you. I respect you. I care about you. I would never let anything happen to you."
Kyuhyun moves his gaze from Donghae's hands to his eyes. He bites his lip.
"I want you to know what being loved feels like," Donghae says. "So I want you to trust me. And I want you to open up your heart to me. I know that will take time, but I can wait because I don't want anyone else, okay?"
Kyuhyun nods, his eyes tearing up.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this."
Donghae moves closer to Kyuhyun. He doesn't move away.
"You don't have to apologize to me for that," he says softly pressing his lips against Kyuhyun's cheek. "Or anyone else."
It does take time, three months to be exact, before Kyuhyun is truly comfortable around Donghae. And at that time he's able to show Donghae his real self without being afraid of his reaction. He's witty, fun, and playful. He's still quiet, but Donghae learns that's just his nature.
Kyuhyun no longer stiffens at Donghae's touches. In fact, he initiates his own from time to time. Donghae smiles whenever Kyuhyun snuggles against him or holds his hand when they're out together. He feels Kyuhyun's affection through each act and his makes him happy.
When they finally sleep together, Kyuhyun's not afraid of close proximity at all. He leans into every touch from Donghae. The kisses Donghae places against his bruised body are gentle and seem to take away every ounce of pain Kyuhyun's ever felt. When he comes, he hears Donghae's repeated whisper of 'I love you' against his ear and he believes it.
When he wakes up in the morning, Donghae's holding him, playing in his hair.
"Good morning," he says grinning.
Kyuhyun smiles. For the first time in a long time he feels safe and loved. Donghae sees that the fear in his eyes is gone and replaced with warmth.
"Good morning," Kyuhyun replies, kissing his cheek.
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The End!